Olympus
by Alixtii
Summary: Kennedy watched as her lover changed the destinies of a thousand girls. Her hair turned white, and she was bathed in an unearthly glow. 'Goddess,' Kennedy whispered. The gods deliberate the fate of mortals. PostChosen.


**_Olympus_**

by Alixtii

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Disclaimer: _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_, including its characters and events, belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Hecate, Osiris, and Janus belong to Themselves but are borrowed by Mutant Enemy and by myself. May They take mercy on our souls. 

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> > > > _Kennedy watched as her lover channeled immense energies through herself, changed the destinies of a thousand girls. Her hair turned white, and she was bathed in an unearthly glow. "Goddess," Kennedy whispered.___

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_ Damnation! _The god's exclamation echoed through the Otherworld. _Hellfire!_

_ Well, those are certainly areas in which You have some expertise, Osiris. _

_Damn it all, Hecate, _Osiris replied. _This is serious. Do You know what happened?_

_Of course. I don't think anyone who was even somewhat attuned to the Otherworld could have failed to feel it. _The Rosenberg girl had cast a spell, Hecate knew, as she had cast so many spells before. But this spell had been different. Sitting in front of the ancient scythe so closely linked to the primal—and demonic—source of the Slayer's power, she had managed to manipulate that energy. Due to her resurrection of the Slayer, the mystical force had already become unstable, vulnerable—irrevocably altered.

And that was what Osiris was angry about, really. He was angered that He had been invoked by the girl, been called upon to power the girl's spell. And within a year, He had been summoned to her once again, forced to listen as she had beseeched Him to free her dead lover.

_It was quite brilliant, actually, _Hecate told Osiris. _The First Evil gained its power to rise against the Slayer due to the imbalance that __Rosenberg__ had caused. And so what does she do? Throws it even more out of balance. Sent the First Evil spiraling._

_ That's not the point, _Osiris insisted. _The power she channeled was immense. No mortal should have been able to handle that type of energy._

He was right, Hecate knew. There were limits to what human flesh—and even more so, the human mind, so small and uncomprehending in the scheme of things—could withstand. _And yet she did._

_ And yet she did, _Osiris agreed. _Doesn't that disturb You?_

_ Should it, Osiris?_

_ I warned You, Hecate, _He reminded Her. _I told You this would happen. If what happened last year wasn't warning enough, I don't know what is. We both knew she was becoming dangerously strong. And yet You refused to do anything about it._

_ What would You have me do? _She asked Him. _I moved against her, had some of My worshippers cast a spell. They altered reality, even._

_ And yet the spell was broken. _The reproach was palpable.

_Anything which can be made can also be unmade. Anything which is unmade can be made again. You know these things, Osiris. Why don't You complain to someone else?_

_ I cannot believe You can be so calm about this._

Suddenly, the Otherworld was filled with an anguished frenzy—an ecstatic mixture of horror and longing. _There,_ came a third Voice. _Is that better?_

_ Nor can I believe that You can manage to joke about this, Janus. It is Your fault in the first place._

Janus' amusement wafted through the Otherworld, the divine equivalent of a good chuckle. _My fault that—what? That the First Evil was beaten back? That __Willow__Rosenberg__ managed to keep the world from ending? You obsess over a little girl, Osiris, and forget the force which truly could have been Our undoing._

_ We have dealt with the First before. It has been around forever, after all._

_ Forever and a day,_ Janus corrected. _And We barely managed to beat it back. Just because something has been around forever does not mean it is safe. And just because something is new—different—does not mean You must destroy it. Difference breeds change, and chaos. It is the way of the universe._

Hecate could feel the force of Osiris' scowl. _Not all of Us are so fond of chaos as You are, Janus._

_ Well, that is Your loss, Osiris._

For a moment, the Otherworld was silent. But it seemed that Osiris could not keep quiet on the subject. _You suggest that We do nothing, then?_

Exasperated, Hecate interjected. _What are You afraid of, Osiris? We may not be worshipped as We once were, but do You really think she is a threat to Our power? _

_ He is, _Janus answered Her question. _To Him, any change is a threat. He does not see that forever door which closes, there is another which opens. That is how We survived for so long, by being able to adapt. When would We have ever imagined that Our worshippers would be who they are now, technopagans with their computers and new technology?_

Suddenly, Hecate felt Janus' eyes gazing deep into Her—those of His aged face which faced the past, and of the youthful one which faced the future. _If You cannot accept change, Osiris, then You do well to fear the __Rosenberg__ girl. And what of You, Hecate? Will You flee from change, or will You face the future with the dignity and grace of a goddess?_

Hecate smiled, as She stood beside the god and watched the mortals conduct their business on the outskirts of a large crater which had once been the town of Sunnydale. _Am I not worshipped as madwoman and visionary? _asked Hecate. _Let Us embrace the future, then._

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> 
> If you enjoyed this story, check out the original story this is a sequel to--"That Old-Time Religion."

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